Government must eliminate conflicts of interest in SEBI's Adani probe: Congress

Congress demands immediate action to eliminate conflicts of interest in SEBI investigation of Adani Group, calling for JPC probe.

In the wake of U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research's allegations against SEBI chairperson Madhabi Buch, the Congress said on Sunday (August 11, 2024) that the Government must act immediately to eliminate all conflicts of interest in the regulator's investigation of the Adani Group and reiterated its demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the matter.

The Opposition party also said the "seeming complicity of the highest officials of the land" can only be resolved by setting up a Joint Parliamentary Committee to investigate the full scope of the "scam".

Also Read: Adani-Hindenburg case verdict: Key takeaways

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said SEBI had previously cleared "Adani, a close associate of PM Modi, before the Supreme Court following the January 2023 Hindenburg Report revelations".

"The small and medium investors belonging to the middle class who invest their hard-earned money in the stock market need to be protected, as they believe in SEBI. A Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) inquiry is imperative to investigate this massive scandal," he said.

"Until then, concerns persist that PM Modi will continue to shield his ally, compromising India's constitutional institutions, painstakingly built over seven decades," Mr. Kharge said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Hindenburg Research on Saturday (August 20, 2024) launched a broadside against market regulator SEBI chairperson Madhabi Buch, alleging she and her husband had stakes in obscure offshore funds used in the Adani money siphoning scandal.